Sample Assignments

What a Site! Finding, Evaluating, and Integrating Web Sites
A fantastic tutorial on finding web-based course resources of four "flavors": Full Web Courses, Course Materials, Web Activities, and Web Resources. The tutorial starts by helping you to find resources - it offers links to databases and collections relevant to each resource type, as well as suggesting keywords for use with search engines. Then it takes you through a general and flavor-specific evaluation of the sites found. Next you examine tools to convert lists of URLs into web-based teaching and learning activities such as virtual tours/field trips, webliographies, and webquests. Complete this tutorial and you will have a great start on constructing the sorts of assignments and activities that will help make savvy surfers of your students.

Sources of Inspiration for Creating Assignments

MERLOT Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
The MERLOT site was discussed in the sixth video segment of this workshop. MERLOT is a database of links to online learning materials with annotations, peer reviews, and assignments.

Web Central
This site is the home of the What A Site! tutorial. Some of the other useful resources on using the web in teaching and learning on this site are:

Teaching and Learning on the Web
This page allows you to search a database of web-based courses, activities, and resources by keyword(s) and/or subject area.

The Swiss Web Knife
Here you choose a category (e.g., science) and then choose a blade to see a list of web resources (for science there are choices like calculators, specialty search tools, and data sets).

Being Fluent with Information Technology, Appendix A Illustrative Projects
Examples of activities that help students become fluent in the use of information technologies, not all of the examples use the Internet but most all of them could be adapted to do so.

Webquests

Some Thoughts about Webquests
This paper defines the concept of a webquest, gives examples and describes the steps involved in webquest design.

The Webquest page at San Diego State University
This site has numerous webquest resources, including materials to get you started on building your own webquests. Check out the training section http://webquest.sdsu.edu/materials.htm which includes online workshops and tutorials.

Dr. Alice Christie's WebQuest Page
This site has links to a number of webquest resources - papers, collected examples, design tips. Go to Dr Christie's home page for additional links including one to a set of web site evaluation rubrics.

Pathfinders

A Pathfinder for Constructing Pathfinders
This pathfinder on pathfinders includes books, articles, links to other pathfinder sites, links to graphics, links to web directories (aimed at K-12), and a slide show on creating pathfinders.

Pathfinders, Internet Public Library
A set of pathfinders on a range of more (Greek mythology, sustainable development, finding statistics) and less academic topics (roller coasters, quilting, punk and indie rock). American Folklife Resources is a particularly rich pathfinder that could be used as a model for student-created pathfinders. At the Internet Public Library site you will also find extensive subject collections (accessible by selecting from the menu on the right hand of each page). Unlike the pathfinders, these include only web-based resources.

Sample Assignments That Address Internet Literacy

"Anarchy and the Internet"
This course is based on Ward and Karet's The Content-Based Approach to Internet Literacy and as such it has a set of weekly Internet literacy assignments that help students to approach the course content on anarchy. It also has links to the Anarchy Archives (An Online Research Center on the History and Theory of Anarchism). This archive was created by students in this course.

"Earth Systems Science" (GEOL 3923H)
In this course all of the reading are available via the Internet. Guidance on the reading assignments can also be found online from a link in the syllabus. In addition, there are also links to sites designed to assist students in completing course writing assignments (which are submitted electronically) as well as Internet exercises. One of the more interesting writing assignments involves poetry - students compose poems that they perform in a class Poetry Slam. Included are guidelines for the slam activity and links to slam poetry Web sites. Another interesting area on this site is peer assessment, a page where other educators can comment on the course. The questions on this assessment form (What do you perceive are the greatest barriers to implementing this course format in your teaching? Can you integrate any of the exercises in their present form into any of the courses you presently teach?) definitely are food for thought.

"History of the United States"
This course incorporates web-based research assignments, web-based readings, and the course textbook, Nation of Nations, has an extensive online component complete with maps, quizzes, Internet exercises, and links to numerous Web sites (click on Student Online Learning Center near the top of the homepage to access these resources). To view the weekly course readings and assignments click on the link Class Schedule/Web Work Links. To view the research assignment, click on the link Internet Component & Web Work near the bottom on the course homepage. The assignment page includes links to an evaluation form for students to complete on each Web site they visit; links to speciality search tools for history; a link to a page of online writing and research guides; and a link to a page on the use of the Internet in writing and researching history.

"Internet Literacy"
In this course students are required to create a course Web page/portfolio that includes: a critique of two contrasting Web sites; an investigation of a virtual community; and a research report on an Internet issue. Detailed descriptions of each of the assignment are available, click on Major Assignments and Due Dates. The syllabus contains readings on a variety of Internet literacy issues from ethics to design to the digital divide. There is also a "Technology Survey" linked to the first class session. One of the most interesting aspects of this course is the experiential learning component. Students are asked to complete a technology outreach project for a non-profit community organization. The project could take the form of providing training and education or it could focus on Web site development or it might involve Internet research.

"Sociology and the Internet"
This course has a set of six Internet exercises and a research report on an Internet issue in sociology. The most interesting of the Internet exercise involves making sociological predictions and using data available online to test these predictions. There is also an electronic communication requirement - students must contribute to the class listserv, WebCT Bulletin Board, and WebCT Chat Room - and a set of goals for electronic discussions is provided. If you truncate the URL at the last / you will reach Dr Wood's homepage where there are a links to Wood's other courses and to online resources for educators. One of these, Experiencing Southeast Asia in the Delaware Valley: A Guide for Students is an excellent example of a pathfinder, offering a variety of ways, including the Internet, to experience Southeast Asian culture. It is also worth visiting the department's Web-Enhanced Curriculum page for other ideas and tools for using the web in the classroom.